This invention relates generally to connectors for electronic communication devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to modular jacks for connecting to telecommunication lines.
A vast majority of communication devices, such as telephones, facsimile machines, modems and local area network (LAN) adapters, require a wire connection to a telecommunication line. To conveniently attach a telecommunication line to a communication device, standard connectors have been promulgated. The most popular of these connectors is known in the art as the RJ-xx series of connectors. Of the RJ-xx series of connectors, the RJ-11, the RJ-12 and RJ-45 connectors are widely used. The RJ-11 connector comprises a six-contact plug and a corresponding jack, while the RJ-45 connector comprises an eight-contact plug and a corresponding jack. The RJ-11 and RJ-45 connectors are standardized in the industrial world and have desirable attributes of both low cost and high reliability.
Detailed information regarding the RJ-xx series of connectors can be found at Title 47 (Telecommunications), Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter I (Federal Communications Commission), Subchapter B (Common Carrier Services), Part 68 (Connection of Terminal Equipment to the Telephone Network), Subpart F (Connectors), Section 68.500 (1992) which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and referred to herein as xe2x80x9cRJ-standards.xe2x80x9d Among other parameters, the RJ-standards provide for contact configurations having a minimum normal force and particular dimensions.
Although the RJ-standards provide for reliable and standardized connections, the applicants have identified that the relatively stout connectors mandated by the RJ-standard lack sufficient compliance to accommodate normal misuse. Misuse occurs, for example, when a user inserts an RJ-11 plug into an RJ-45 jack. Such an occurrence is not uncommon since these connectors are often used by people unfamiliar with the differences between the various RJ connectors which resemble each other. Such misuse unfortunately results in the housing around the RJ-11 plug permanently deforming the outer contacts of the RJ-45 connector.
The applicants have also identified that the lack of compliance of RJ-standard contacts results in limited durability due to the permanent deformation of the contacts after repeated mating cycles. According to the RJ-standard, a connector is rated only for 750 mating cycles. Although such a number may seem adequate, it is quickly reached by many users who may connect and disconnect their portable computers or other communication devices several times a day, every day, for several years. Indeed, it is not uncommon for a user to put a connector through 2,000 mating cycles or more in the life of the communication device. Thus, the RJ-standard of 750 mating cycles is woefully inadequate.
Therefore, there is a need for a modular jack connection which allows for normal misuse and provides for greater durability. The present invention fulfills this need among others.